Etranger - Chapter 118

Biyeon jumped directly into the fray. Like a sparrow, she quickly entered into the battle. She had a sword in one hand and a handgun in another.

“Bang-”

The first gunshot rang out. The bullet went clean through the head of a contracted slave on the leftmost side of the monster entity. The target was at the most outermost part of the entity, so it moved relatively slowly and was an easier target to hit. Immediately, the left side of the entity, which was tight and taut just a moment ago, started to deflate and collapse.

With her sword in her left hand, Biyeon flew across the air towards her next target. Twirling her body like a whirling screwdriver, her sword went straight through the head of a contracted slave at the center of the entity. Her momentum carried her towards a horse that was behind the contracted slave, going through its head as well. The five contracted slaves in the center region of the entity paused and stood still as if they became paralyzed.

The handgun in her right hand started blazing once more. A bullet went clean through the neck of a contracted slave who was to her right. As soon as his head exploded, the right-hand side of the entity also stopped moving. They were standing completely still as if they were a still picture.

Whoosh-

While Biyeon was making her move, San had launched a sword at Beckham. The bluish glow of the Archon bone sword left an afterimage trail as it swiftly approached Beckham before it landed squarely on his forehead. The downward flung sword had gone through Beckham’s forehead and traveled down his neck and spine. The sword’s handle latched onto Beckham’s head, causing him to fall off his horse and onto the ground from the sword’s momentum. Once the sword stopped, Beckham’s skull was already completely cracked into two. Like magic, all of the remaining contracted slaves stopped their movement instantly.

The entity that a god had forcefully created broke down back to its individual parts, causing anguish and pain for the contracted slaves. They crumbled to the ground as they wailed from their pain. The intense aura and pressure that was created by the entity quickly dispersed. The entire scene seemed to melt into nothing, like an ice cube on a hot summer’s day.

Biyeon cast her eyes to the sky. The dark clouds looming over them were slowly parting. Higher up, lighting was streaking across the sky. Ear piercing sounds of thunder roared over and over. It seemed as though the God of War, Kamije, was furious about losing his control over his created entity…

San, who had slowly walked up to Beckham’s corpse, took out his sword from Beckham’s skull. With a sword in both hands, he advanced forward towards the individuals who had lost their connection to their master and made quick work of them. They were abnormal ‘individuals’ who seemed to be craving death rather than their current existence.

San’s action of easily dismantling these existences was like ridiculing their ‘owner’, a smirk against the gods, and a mockery of the Creator. However, for San and Biyeon themselves, killing these individuals was painful and sorrowful. They reaffirmed their determination to ask the Creator why he had created this world.

“Are you happy after creating such a disgusting, inhumane world? Do you really enjoy this shit?” San muttered in frustration.

The survivors started vomiting after seeing San and Biyeon dispatching the contracted slaves. The scene was too gory and inhumane. It was the survivor’s first reaction after seeing the ripped open corpses that were strewn across the battlefield. The gory scene seemed to have made the living want to confirm their existence through the primal action of vomiting.

The sky opened up once more. The sun’s rays warmed the valley ground and shone upon the living as if comforting their souls. The area returned to a more pleasant, normal scene. San and Biyeon stood on the road while a comforting wind blew.

[Good job.] Biyeon said.

[I was able to do it with your support. It was a little more complicated than I thought.] San replied.

[The divine power of a god is no joke.]

[You can say that again… however…]

[However?] Biyeon asked.

[I’m more afraid of you.]

[Why?]

[Because you always find a way to win. Against a god… against what others consider an absolute…]

[…]

[Live long. And take better care of your health and body…]

[Women tend to live longer than men anyway.]

[That’s the way it should be…]

Biyeon stared at his fading back. The sky was surprisingly clear and bright as if nothing had happened.

Episode 3. Book 2: Search – Chapter 5

‘I need to calm myself! I need to uphold the regal, royal prestige of my office, as a princess of the Empire and daughter of the King…’ Rain thought as her hand shook uncontrollably. Even though the sun on her shoulders was warm, she couldn’t calm her nerves. Her nose was also running… the pride within her mind was appealing to her to act with regal aloofness, but her body heartbreakingly refused.

“You should get up and make your way down the hill, right? The ground is cold. You shouldn’t sit like that.”

Rain raised her head. As the man and her eyes met, she quickly turned her head to the side. The speaker was part of the Essen crew, a young warrior named Yekin. If she recalled correctly, he was Count Essen’s second son…

Rain looked around. Everyone had already made their way down the hill, but Yekin probably remained because of his concern for her. Rain reflected on her reaction to what she saw and her subsequent actions. She was sitting down on the ground with her legs collapsed under her.

‘Such an un-stately appearance!’ she thought as she tried once more to get up. However, her legs weren’t in a position to follow her orders. Rain took a handkerchief out and put it up to her face. She cleaned her face and tried to gather her breath. When she looked down into her handkerchief, she saw that it was colored black. Her tears, sweat, and runny nose had mixed with the dust in the air, causing everything to turn to black sludge.

Rain raised her head and stared at one place. She watched as a man was talking naturally with the merchant convoy members and a woman sitting comfortably on a rock in the distance. She was writing something in her notebook. It was a scene that Rain had gotten used to.

However, Rain felt that Biyeon’s appearance now was very unnatural and unfamiliar. She suddenly overlapped the image of a calm, pensive BIyeon with the horrific images of slaughter she had conducted just a moment before. The hair on her back stood up as a chill ran through her body.

Rain slightly stretched out her hand. Yekin grabbed her hand and further supported her by the arms. ‘Even in the face of this incredible, extraordinary incident, this son of a Count is resolute. His expression is calm, and his movements are free. This was probably not the first time he’s seen something like this…’

As the tremors in her body subsided, her head, which had momentarily stopped functioning, began to turn again. Now, she could clearly see the situation. Her computational instinct began to kick in gear. Her instincts were telling her to remember this situation. The gaze of the imperial court’s genius, Rain, slowly took in her surroundings as if she was snapping shots from a camera. She saw the Dong-Myung clansmen. Even though the battle was over, they seemed to be rooted to the ground. They seemed to be staring at Biyeon more so than San.

The great Dong-Myung Clan, known for their mastery of weaponry…

Next to the Dong-Myung clansmen were the two from the Ki-Jang Clan… Gibin was standing while Giyoung was sitting down on the ground. The two from the Ki-Jang clan were conversing with serious expressions on their faces.

The great Ki-Jang Clan, known for their battle formations and organizational tactics…

Even with Rain’s untrained eyes, she understood that she saw something that was unfathomable. It was surprising enough that such a monster entity could be present in the world, but it didn’t make sense that the entity would regenerate and not perish even in the face of San’s extraordinary attacks. However, as soon as Biyeon intervened in the battle, the entity had simply disbanded and collapsed helplessly like a house of cards. Rain couldn’t understand this situation.

Additionally… the crew members…

The crew members had already started their descent down the hill a while ago. They were already cleaning up the battle site. The more lightly injured horsemen tried to resist against the advancing crew members, but all were overpowered, and the situation was quickly resolved. The crew was resolute and confident in their actions. As if they were enjoying a game, the crew members handled the horsemen with ease before moving on to the next task. They moved with organizational cohesiveness, quick speed, and exact results. The crew members acted with natural ease and veteran experience.

All this was strange for Rain, but she could feel a sense of dignity in the crew members as they carried out their actions.

Rain blinked as she thought, ‘Could a rustic and innocent country warrior change so drastically if given a weapon? If so, how can I explain all of the other occasions where country warriors were much less capable versus their large city counterparts?’

Lastly, she thought about Gun. He was probably the most surprised about what happened. However, Rain frowned as she looked for Gun without success. He was nowhere to be seen. She got up and sought him.

Gun was squatting on the hill, quite a far distance away. He was looking down at the valley. From the direction he was looking, two people on horseback were slowly approaching. Rain’s eyes calmed down as she thought, ‘Those two must be the brothers Seyum and Segyum, Gun’s secret escort guards. I heard that they were Awakened Warriors from the Han-Sung Clan. Why are they showing up now? Have they decided that they can’t protect Gun from afar?’

***

“They’re less patient than I thought,” San muttered.

“Yes. They must have been spooked to come out so soon,” Biyeon replied.

“Did the Han-Sung Clan’s old man relay any message about them? Are we supposed to take care of them as well?”

“He just said to do whatever was convenient for us.”

“He’s a troublesome guy, that old man, Hanyoung. Though, it’s been pretty beneficial to put him in awkward situations and get what we want…”

“What are we going to do now?”

“What else can we do? We’ll have to take care of everyone. Then, we have to get what is owed to us, right? Why is your expression so dark?” San asked as he turned to her.

Biyeon tapped the notepad with her fingertips. Black graphite powder fell off from her drawing.

“I’ve been thinking about something while we’ve been traveling. After listening to Beckham’s story, an idea suddenly came to mind. So, I wrote a novel,” Biyeon answered.

“Novel? Who’s the main character?”

“The two of us. The supporting role is the Creator, the gods, the dragons, and the people of this place…”

“It must be a fantasy novel… Will our story be interesting?”

“Interesting enough…”

“What’s the ending? Is it a happy ending?”

“Uhm, probably something closer to utter exhaustion than happiness?”

The conversation stopped for a while.

“I don’t watch tragedies!” San emphatically stated.

“It’s more of a science fiction suspense thriller than a tragedy,” Biyeon replied.

“Why don’t you give me a brief synopsis first?”

***

“Please take me with you. I can’t stand it anymore!” Gun screamed aloud. His blackened face was covered with dust and sweat. His white, fear-filled face would probably make anyone feel sorry for him. His panic-stricken body was still shaking uncontrollably.

Gun’s secret escort guard sighed. He was a first-level Awakened Warrior from the Han-Sung Clan. To that extent, he was a man who had no shortcomings in escorting a person of the royal court. He shook his head and stated, “I understand your situation, sir, but it is not our decision.”

“They’ll kill me! You saw it! They’re monsters! They’re not people! There’s no way they’re human beings. There’s no mistaking it! Please! Take me away. No matter what my father ordered, I want to live!” Gun cried out with his head squeezed between his knees.

“This is… really… difficult,” Segyum muttered as he bit his lips and turned his head towards his brother, Seyum, another first-level Awakened Warrior of the Han-Sung Clan. Even though the brothers had gone through a multitude of trials, struggles, arduous battles, and unspeakable experiences, they were especially shocked by what they saw today. If it was this shocking for them, they couldn’t even fathom how difficult it would be for the son of a royal prince…

“The King’s orders were clear. Your father is highly likely to become the next emperor of the empire. Are you really going to disobey his command? Once you go against his command, there’s no returning back,” Segyum said in a grave voice.

“What are you saying? What do you expect of me in this situation? Accompanying Rain is one thing, but to go into that crew…” Gun continued to complain.

“Are those people hired by Princess Rain?” Seyum asked.

“That’s what I heard. She hired those monsters! I have nothing to do with them now! I’ve fulfilled my task!” Gun continued hysterically.

Seyum and Segyum exchanged looks and quietly conferred with each other. They soon reached a conclusion.

“First of all, the two of us will walk with Sir Gun together. Let’s compromise with that,” Segyum stated.

Gun’s face became a little brighter.

“Well… as long as both of you are by my side…”